Rogue Avatar - Book 1 : Dealing with the Wind
by starheart.fallenstar
Summary: [AU of Legend of Korra-book 1 : air] No longer can she stand the pressure of the White Lotus' compound, an eleven year old Korra broke free and runaway from her prison, abandon her birthright duty to live the life as she see fit. Six years later, the Rogue-Avatar was force to come to Republic City, for there is a destiny she wish to destroy.
1. Chapter 0 : The Great Sister

I am...the master of the four elements, they said.

I am... the keeper of balance, they said.

I am...the symbol of hope, they said.

I am...a prisoner, I said.

**And you are all..._liars,_ I said.**

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On the night of the full moon, at the front gate of South Pole compound, lay about twenty to thirty White Lotus guards, most of them unconscious, some badly injured, none able to stand up.

At the middle of the sparring ring stood an eleven year old girl, her hand dripping with blood that wasn't her own. In front of her kneeling a leader of this White Lotus compound.

"Out of my way," said the girl. She has a full-size back pack on her back, indicating that she was about to go on a long trip.

"Please, Avatar Korra..." the leader pant, barely having enough strength to look up from the floor. "You're making a terrible mistake..."

"I did, I have waited TOO LONG to do this." Korra spit her words coldly, filling them with more hate and anger than an eleven year old girl should.

"We're not your enemy, we are only trying to help..."

"By locking me in this damn prison for the rest of my life? Until you see fit to use me for your own benefit?" Korra replied and start to walk around the leader to get to the gate.

The White Lotus leader reached out and grabbed her ankle. "We..only did...what's best for you..."

The girl move her fingers slowly and the leader word got cut short, his body tensed up like his muscles were twisting painfully inside his skin.

"You should have listened to Katara..." Korra gestured her hand down, the leader slammed his body on the floor violently, until he passed out. "...when she said she didn't want to teach me **_bloodbending_**."

Korra turn her attention back to the gate, only to see the figure that made her curse under her breath. "Speak of the devil, and he shall appear…"

Katara stood there, perfectly calm. An elder of the Southern Water Tribe and the best healer in the four nations, but her expression tolda different story, the old woman's face was a mix of sadness, depression, and guilt.

_"Step aside,"_ Korra snarled like a polar bear wolf, her hand igniting in flame that made the blood stain evaporate.

"There is no need to fight me, Korra" Katara said, remaining calm even when the Avatar walked straight to her.

"I will kill...every, last, person in this tribe if that's what it takes to be free!"

"I'm not going to stop you."

That took Korra aback a little, she carefully looked at the Hundred Year War was not in her fighting stance or bending, Korra could punch her fire-fist in Katara's heart right now, and she doubts that even her legendary waterbending skills could save her in time.

"I'm leaving," the girl stated while she walked past the old women.

"I have prepared you a small sailboat, you could use it to get out of the South Pole..."

"I don't need it."

"...No, you don't." The harsh word of a younger did not offend Katara, if anything, it just make her feel more guilty, defeated, and shameful. She can't even bring herself to turn her head when the Avatar walks past her.

"Korra..." the old woman heard the footstep stop, but knew it wouldn't be for long, so she quickly continued. "I have done you wrong,...we have all done you wrong here, and I know I'm in no position to ask you for anything, but..."

The footsteps still silent, the girl still listening.

"May I ask you...not to use bloodbending unless it's absolutely necessary?" Katara pause a little "For the good of the world?"

"Did the world give a damn when I was locked up alone in this hell hole? Force to train day and night to become your personal weapon? Robbed of any childhood? Never having any friends, or freedom, or a life outside of this cold prison!?"

Katara close her eye, those words cut in to her heart like a sharp razor.

"I make no promises."

And that was the last word she ever heard from the Avatar in many years to come, Katara took a deep breath to steady her mind and let the girl's words sink in, by the time she turned to look at the vast land of snow, Korra was nowhere to be found.

Katara walked into the compound and started healing the White Lotus guards, her mouth mumbling in this tragic night.

"Oh Aang,...what have we done?..."

In the morning, Tonraq's search party found what was left of the burned sailboat on the beach, no sign of the Avatar, and with a painful heart, Tonraq realized he may never see his daughter again, for the rest of his, or even her life.

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_**6 years later...**_

In the middle of a jungle somewhere deep in Earth Kingdom, a group of four bandits were chilling around inside a hidden cave above a cliff.

On the side of the cave sat two children, a boy and a girl, gagged and tied up. They looked frightened, but not enough to cry...yet.

"Someone's approaching." A male bandit who observed the area with binoculars said. "A woman, Wearing a red dress. That's our ransom carrier alright." The other three smiled.

"You stay with the kids." A large muscular man who seems to be the leader ordered one of the female bandits in their group. "In case we get ambushed, kill the boy first, and use the girl as a hostage. We'll double her ransom later."

"Oh, then I wish that gal pulls something funny," the other female smile, ignore the teary eyes on the boy's face.

After three of the bandits leave the cave, a figure snuck up behind the watcher and silently took her down with bear hands, and the woman didn't even have time to blink, let alone scream or make any sound.

The women in red dress stood nervously as she looked around with a bag of money in her hand. She has black hair and a mole under her right eye...

After the bandit scouted the area to make sure there is no one else around, the three of them came out of the bush and approached the women who look frightened by their appearance.

"Wh...Where are my brother and sister?..." She ask, her voice sounding like it used to be deep and confident, but was now shaking with fear.

"Do you have our money?" the leader of the bandits demanded.

A little hesitant, the women handed him the bag she carried.

The leader opened it, at first he was pleased with a sight of gold pieces..., but frowned when he noticed something else in the bag.

"What is this?"

He picked up what look like a long metal strip, there are about eight to ten strips mixed in among the gold pieces. The women opened her mouth to answer, but a loud noise from the cave drew everyone attention.

A ball of fire shot up in the sky, not an attack, but a signal, _'The hostages are safe, go for it!'_.

"Your cuff. You bandit scum." A frightened damsel suddenly spoke with a cold piercing voice, she took her fighting stance and moved her hand swiftly, five metal strip flying out of the bag and bound the leader bandit on the mouth, wrists, and ankles, rendering him helpless in the blink of an eye.

"It's an ambush!" the male yelled.

"No shit, Captain Obvious! She's a metalbender!" the female replied with more useful information, both of them took an earthbending stance, but had to roll away when they noticed a huge ball of fire shooting toward them from the cave, this time it was definitely an attack.

The woman in the red dress used this opportunity to bend five more metal strips from the bag to the male bandit and wrapped him smoothly like a professional cashier wrapped a gift box. He landed face down, not far from his leader.

The last female bandit still hadn't recovered from the ground, not even when the firebender who attacked them jumped off the cave, using stream of fire under her feet as a jets to land in front of her. She look up to see a mocha skinned teenage girl, clearly a Water Tribe look, but both of her hands ignited in flames with an intimidating smile on her face.

"You wanted us pull something funny? Here we are!" the Water Tribe girl announced, reminding the bandit of what she said earlier. She lift her right fist up, ready to slam it down on her face.

"I..I surrender! I SURRENDER!" the bandit plead, the firebender frown with her fist still hang in the air.

"Too soon lady, let me have some fun first. Tell me, which side of your face is your least favorite?" without waiting for an answers, the flaming fist punch down at the bandit's left side face, which similar to the right side, was now covered in a complete horrified expression.

"Korra! Stop!" A metal strip flew off from under the red sleeve to the wrist of the girl, holding back her fist just an inch before it collide with its target's face. The women quickly sent another five metal strips to capture the female bandit.

"What? I'm just gonna leave a few scars on her. You know, teach her a lesson, make her see the error of her ways." Korra whined as she took the strip off her hand, but made no attempt to attack the bandit again.

"I don't approve of unnecessary violence, our job is done, let the authorities punish them." the women dragged the female to her two companions. Korra watched three of them squirm helplessly on the ground.

"Are the children safe?"

"Yeah, yeah. They're in the cave with another bandit. Don't worry, I tied her up nicely, and I bet she is still knocked out as we speak."

"Good, you take them back to their family, I'll take these four to the police station in the nearby town."

Korra frowned at the idea."How about we switch places, you take the kids, I'll take the bandits..."

"I'm not leaving them to be your punching bag, Korra."

"For a mercenary, you're no fun, Kuvira."

The woman smile at the comment. She wrapped her arm around Korra's shoulder while they walked up to the cave to retrieve the children and the other bandit.

"Cheer up, sister. You know I'm good at negotiations, I'm sure I could talk a bit of extra bounty out of these thugs."

Now her big sister spoke Korra's langue, that made the runaway Avatar smile greedily, but in a cute way.

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Korra lost count of how many times she watched the scene of a family years of being a freelance mercenary, she and her partner/sister, Kuvira, took on a job of a kidnapping case almost every month, to the point of Korra having an imaginary checklist in her mind while she watched the scene: tears, check, hug, check, 'Oh! I thought I'd never see you again!', check.

With that said, it doesn't reduce a warm feeling in her heart every time she watches a parent hugging their children, knowing she's the one who made this reunion happen. Korra loves money, yes, but taking a little bit of pride in her work doesn't hurt either.

"Thank you so much for bring our children home safely." The father of the family bowing to her, while the mother look like she not gonna stop hugging her kids anytime soon.

"All in the day work, Mister." Korra bowed back, she knows how to be polite with her client.

Speaking of business...

"Oh,and here is your payment." The father held up a smaller bag than the one Kuvira used as a decoy, Korra opened the bag and smile at the amount of silver pieces inside, but then the corner of her eye picked up something outside the window. She slowly turned her head toward that direction, knowing full well what she was going to find.

On the street of this small town, appeared the figure in an airbender cloak, bald head, and his trademark blue arrow tattoo on his head. The figure locked eyes with Korra, almost thirty second that neither of them had blink, until a person walk pass, blocking him from Korra's view for brief second, and when the person out of the frame, he too was gone.

"Umm..., Is everything alright, Miss?" the father asked, as he had follow Korra's eyesight for half a minute, but saw no one in particular on the street, not even one person glancing at his house.

"Yes,...I'm just...thinking of something." Korra mumbled, stuffing the money bag in her shirt and saying her farewell to the didn't forget to pat the kids on their head, and told them not to go off with strangers next time.

As soon as Korra walked out the door, she was greeted with same figure that mysteriously vanished a moment ago. She was taken aback a little, but not too surprised with his appearance.

"I'm busy." Korra snarled, she kept her voice down, knowing that while she saw this person standing in the street, he wasn't really here, and no one beside her could see him.

"Stop bothering me, foul being. Go haunt your wife, I'm sure she'll be glad to see you again." the man showed no emotion to her words, and Korra was not sure if that was because he is a monk, or because he is a ghost.

The sound of a horn made Korra turn her head, she saw Kuvira. She had changed back into her mercenary outfit, driving her jeep down the street, and sure enough...when Korra turn back around, he already gone.

"Got the payment?" Kuvira asked as she parkedto pick up Korra before continuing to drive out of town.

"Here." Korra tossed the bag at Kuvira, the older girl caught it with one hand with the other still on the steering wheel, she used her metalbending to feel to silver pieces inside, before tossing it back to Korra.

"I have good news, turns out the bandit leader actually had a warrant in Ba Sing Se too, the bounty was three times what I was expected!"

"...Umm hmm..." Korra replies casually while staring out the side window. Kuvira raised one of her eyebrows. Usually Korra would be overly excited when they made some extra cash, and she would start babbling about how to spend it(all in less than a day, or a meal if Kuvira didn't stop her).

"Korra, is everything alright?"

She stayed silent, but somehow that gave her an answer.

"...Aang, isn't it?"

"...Yeah..." Korra leaned back in her seat, looking up in the sky that began to turn orange in the evening. "It's getting more and more frequent, Kuvira. He didn't say anything, but damn if looks could kill…Just looking into his eyes almost makes me go crazy!" She slammed her fist at the jeep's console and accidentally left a fist-shaped dent on it.

"Sorry..." Korra retracted her hand, Kuvira just shook her head with a soft smile and used her metalbending to fix the console back to its former shape.

"Maybe I better get drunk before I go to sleep tonight, the cactus juice always keeps him out of my head..."

"And it gives you a massive hung-over headache in the morning." Kuvira chuckled a bit, before suddenly shifting to her serious mode, but still in a light tone of voice. "Korra, you can't run away from this. You're the Avatar..."

"Already did it once at the compound."

"And now it's finally catching up to you." Kuvira slowed down the jeep so she could turn to talk to Korra with less risk of running off the road. "We can't run from our past forever, or even if you can, is that the life you want to live? Running from what's haunting you, only to wait for it to catch up, so you have to start running again?"

"The word 'haunting' is surprisingly accurate in my case." Korra said jokingly, but Kuvira knew from her tone that the younger girl does take this conversation seriously. "So,should I go back to the compound? To be the other's puppet again? Scarifying my freedom for my sanity?"

"Absolutely not that, Korra. I know how much you hate that place, that's why we only take jobs at the Northern Water Tribe, remember?" Kuvira grab Korra's shoulder softly, she wanted to ensure the younger girl that she has her support on this subject. Unless there was absolutely no other way, Kuvira wouldn't never suggest Korra to go back to the compound. "I'm just saying that, maybe you have to confront your past life directly, actually talk to him if you can. I don't know much about the spiritual stuff though..."

"I do." Korra sighed. "I just don't want to, it's what the White Lotus taught me back at the compound, the way to meditate so that I can connect with my past lives, but you know me, aside from bending three elements, I don't want to do anything relating to me being the Avatar."

"Bending more than one element is kind of an Avatar trademark though."

"Yeah, but to hell if I'm gonna let my years of abusive training go to waste." Korra shooting fire out of her hand to emphasize her point. "I bet the reason I can't airbend is because of him."

"Who? Aang?"

"Who else? He's mad that I not respect his dying wish to let the White Lotus imprison me..."

"I'm sure they use the word 'taking care' on paper."

"Whatever! So he's blocking me from bending his natural element. Screw him! Three elements is more than enough to make a living as a mercenary. Take that, Mister Last Airbender!"

"I doubt that to be the case, but it does sound reasonable." Kuvira chuckled. "Still, I really think you should talk to him, just to clear the air(no pun intended), see what he exactly wants. Better than to keep guessing and seeing those hallucinations ."

"...I...suppose..." Korra sighed again, before looking up at top of the mountain not far from their destination town. "We might have go somewhere...spiritual though, I think the old ruin on that mountain will do."

"As you wish." Kuvira shifted the gear stick to ride off-road, and go straight to the mountain side.

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She began meditating when the sunset, now the moon is up and shining, and she is still meditating.

"Hmm, maybe this is actually harder than I remember..." Korra mumbled to herself, sitting in the lotus position at the ruin's courtyard, Kuvira is waiting with their jeep outside. The girl closed her eyes again, trying to clear her mind but her mouth still whispered. "Come on baldy, you stalk me all day long, but now you refuse my invitation?"

She felt a sudden shift in the air, like the world around her slowed down, all surrounding sounds silent, and when she opened her eyes, he's finally here.

Sitting across from here in a similar position, his eyes still the same but it look more...alive, if that's possible.

"Korra." His voice echo through the night, a perk for being a ghost, she guess.

"Twinkle toes." Korra notice a slight frown on Aang's face, she smiled. "Yeah, your wife told me you hate that nickname." She shifted herself in to a more comfortable position, stretching her legs out in an inappropriate manner when talking to an elderly person. "So, spit it out, what do you want?"

"You know why I am trying to reach you."

"Me and sis actually have few theories running around." Korra roll her eye. "Can you be more specific which one is correct?"

"You have abandoned your duty as the Avatar, Korra." Aang spoke in a calm, monotone voice, the most boring version of speaking. "You repeated the same mistake I made when I was a boy."

"I actually prefer to think I succeeded where you failed, because as you can see, I didn't freeze myself in the middle of the ocean," Korra snickered, "...but for the sake of seriousness, what duty are you talking about? The world is fine, Aang. I'll even admit that it is thanks to you. The four nations live together in harmony now, no war, no tyrannical overlord, even if the Earth Queen is kind of a bitch..."

"The duty of the Avatar is to bring balance to the world, Korra, and you cannot do that without mastering all four elements."

"Wait? You mean you aren't the reason I can't airbend?"

"No, Korra." The girl wasn't sure if she actually detected some irritation in his voice. "The other elements came to you easily, but the element of air is out of your reach, as you lack an understanding of its nature both physically, and unlock it, you'll need a guide, you'll need...a teacher."

"But...the only airbender in the world is..." Korra paused as she realized something, she smiled sarcastically at Aang. "Since when does being dead make you a smartass, Aang?"

"I meant what I said Korra."

"I'm not going to Republic City, and I'm not going to your son! I know he would turn me in to the White Lotus the moment he got his hands on me!"

"This isn't about the order..."

**"It was your will that get me lock up in that compound! It was your idea that robbed me of my freedom! It was your doing that make the damn White Lotus have an authority over my life! So it is all about them, Aang! Don't you_ DARE _deny it!"** Korra burst out at her past reincarnation, her angry expression could make even the most fearsome warrior feel uneasy.

After a long silent, Aang close his eye and finally replied.

"You're right... It is my fault."

For the first time, Korra actually see a change of emotion on the airbender's face, he look softer, saddened, even...similar to his wife six years ago...guilty. "I let the fear of what happened to me when I was a boy cloud my judgment, I wanted to make sure that the next Avatar would be safe and secure, I didn't realize that I'd robbed you of your childhood, the fate that I myself tried to escape when I was a boy."

Korra felt the fire of rage in her heart calm down a little, she shifted back to a lotus position, rubbing her hand while avoiding eye contact.

"Look, all the past drama aside, this is unnecessary, Aang. As I said, the world is fine, it's peaceful now, it's doesn't need its Avatar. If anything, what I did is kinda similar to the Avatar's job, didn't it? I traveled around the world(minus the south pole), helping people in need."

"You charge people for your service."

"Hey, the girl's gotta eat too! How else I'm I suppose to make a living, and it's always a fair price, I never overcharge my clients. Hell! More than once, I even helped them for free if they couldn't afford to pay!Although... I do admit that I tend to avoid those cases."

Aang let out a long sigh, and Korra can only think it's kinda funny that the ghost still has to breathe.

"You were wrong about the world, Korra. There is great evil that will rise in the near future." Aang switched back into his calm emotionless expression. "And it will begin...in Republic City."

Korra frowned, under the normal circumstance she'd call bullshit on this one, but after a few minutes of talking, she had feeling that she could take her past live more seriously than she thought. "You didn't just...make that up, right? To trick me to go to that city."

"I'm not a liar, Korra. And if it'll suit your...lifestyle, I'm willing to make a _deal_."

The corner of Korra's mouth curved up into an amusing smirk. "Now we talking."

"Go to Republic City, learn the airbending by any method you see fit, and if you can find the way to do so without directly confront my son, Tenzin, so be it." Korra liked where this was going. "Deal with the crisis that will emerge in the city, do this, and I will bother you no more, for the rest of your life."

"Any chance you could specifically tell me what is this 'crisis' you're talking about? A vague description job is... a bad sign for business."

"You'll see when the time comes."

That's not the answer she wanted, or needed, but that one she did expect to get.

"I never hated you, Aang, and I never liked you either, but you're willing to compromise, and a compromise,I can respect. You backed down your terms, so I can do the same." Korra sighed and finally nodded.** "Deal."**

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"I may need a few days to think about this. I'll contact you later, Su."

[Of course, Kuvira, take your time. Goodbye.]

"Goodbye. Say hi to Opal for me." Kuvira smiled as she put the communicator back to the jeep's console, at the exact same time that Korra walked out from the ruin. She saw that Kuvira had made a small campfire not far from the jeep.

"How's the meditating?"

"Surprisingly...kinda helpful. I actually got to talk face-to-face with Aang."

"Really? What did he say?"

The two mercenaries sat at the campfire. Kuvira handed Korra a stick with a marshmallow that she was grilling around the flames.

"He wants me to learn airbending to become a fully-realized Avatar, the master of four elements and all that, I guess he worries about his legacy going to waste or something."

"But… you already tried to airbend for the last six years, it has never worked."

"He said..." Korra chewed down the marshmallow before continuing. "...I need a teacher."

"But the only airbender is..." Kuvira's eye widen when she realized it. "You're going to Republic City?"

"I have no other options here. Aang promised he'd stop haunting me if I can airbend, so I promised him I will. He even said that I don't have to confront his son if I can find the way around it, that means I still can keep my secret, nobody has to know the Avatar is in the neighborhood." Korra picked up another stick of marshmallow. "So, will you come with me?"

"Umm, I don't know Korra..." Kuvira switched her gaze to the campfire, she still doesn't eat the marshmallow in her hand. "I...don't really… like that city."

"What? Why? Are you afraid we'll be out of work? I'm pretty sure the city isn't a paradise as the propaganda said, we could make a little money while we stay there. Every place can use a mercenary's touch!" Korra announced, proud of her career.

"It's not that, it's…, okay, this might sound a little...nationalistic, but I always thought it's unfair that Aang and Fire Lord Zuko took the Earth Kingdom's land and changed it to a neutral area."

"Umm hmm, that's nationalism alright." Korra nodded, and scooped down another marshmallow

"Look, I like the idea of a united community, okay? It's just that... it feels like someone broke into my house, took over my living room, and said _'this place belongs to everyone now'_.It doesn't feel right."

"When you put it that way..." The Avatar rolled her eyes smiling, but the cheer faded away a bit when she asked: "So, are you gonna go solo while I'm gone? I'm not sure how long it will take for me to airbend, if this the case, maybe you should consider find a new partner..."

"Actually, I just got a call from Zaofu, Suyin said she might have a position of a city's guard captain waiting for me if I done with this...long...life discovering field trip."

"It's only took you _SIX_ years to discover yourself, huh?" Korra tease.

"I probably would have gone back to Zaofu after the first two years if I haven't met you. I don't even think I would have become a mercenary in the first place."

"You're welcome." Both of them chuckled. "Does this mean you're gonna accept her offer then?"

"Without you, fighting bandits and bounty hunting wouldn't be as much fun as it used to be." Kuvira smiled gently at Korra, and the girl took that as a compliment. "I do owe Su a lot, she is like a mother to me, might as well take this chance to return the favor."

"So, the duo finally have to go their separate ways. Thanks a lot, Aang!" Korra yelled at the sky pretended to sound angry. Kuvira laughed at her for that.

"We should have a farewell banquet, too bad we only got marshmallows..." Korra grimaced.

"Not quite." The older girl smiled, walked to the jeep, pulled out a bottle of cactus juice and two glasses from her baggage and walk back to the campfire. "I got this after turn in those bandit, figure we might want to celebrate later."

"You... are the BEST sister a girl could ever have!" Korra cheered as Kuvira poured her a glass, they toasted and downed the first hallucinating liquid down their throat, and the entire night after that is kinda blurry in their minds.

"You know what you should do!?" Korra say in her half dizzy sound, but with a huge smile on her face. Kuvira seem to be more in control of herself, but still giggle none stop since her second glass. "You should... build an army! An army of Earth Kingdom... no!**_AN EARTH EMPIRE_**!...yeah, that sounds a lot cooler..., and you could use them to take back Republic City!"

"The other nations won't allow that, Korra. They'll be jealous of me." the metalbender kept giggling "The United Forces will stand against me, it'll be a bloody battle, and you know me, I hatea bloody battle, especially if I could avoid it."

"Then...how about this? You saving money to build...**_A METAL GIANT_**, thirty stories high, with a canon that shoots fire and lightning equipped on its arm, and no one will dare stand in your way! They'll cower like chicken and give the city to you, simple as that!"

"Thirty stories high? You know how much metal it'll take to build something that big?"

"**Tear it out from the Zaofu's domes then!**" Korra yell "I hate those domes! I remember the last time I visited the Metal Clan with you. The domes look nice during the day but it blocks my view of the stars at night. Use them to build your giant...and replace them with glass, or something transparent."

This time, Kuvira burst out laughing so hard she fell off the trunk that she use as a chair, unlike Korra who was already on the floor after the third glass.

"Funny, Korra... really...really funny." Kuvira panted. "Oh...it's gonna feel so lonely when you gone, sister..."

"I promise you, the first gust of air shoots out of my palm, and I'll take a nearest airship straight to Zaofu." Korra pointing up toward the sky "And who know, if being a guard captain doesn't work out for you, we could come back to this business. Traveling the world, fighting criminals, helping people, making a profit while doing so."

The Avatar gulped down the last of her cactus juice, she raised her glass to the full moon, contrasting how different she had felt, this night six years ago. "Just the two of us against the world."

"I hear you, sister." Kuvira sipped her last glass and poured the rest on the ground, as if to invite the earth to drink with them. "Together, we're unstoppable."

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	2. Chapter 1 : Unwelcoming Republic City(1)

**1). Unwelcoming Republic City (part 1)**

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Their morning departure was brief, but not rushed. Kuvira drove Korra to the nearest port, so the Avatar could take a ship to the Republic City, while her sister went all the way back to Zaofu.

"Here," Kuvira handed five metal strips to her sister after she bought her a ticket. "A farewell gift."

"Thanks." Korra strapped four of the strips around her wrists, and the fifth one around her throat.

"Be careful not to melt them too soon."

"I'll... make no promises." The same words she spoke to her mentor six years ago, only with a teasing tone. There was none of the venomous anger was in her voice now. "Let's just hope I'll have no reason to use my 'fire-cutter' technique anytime soon."

"Last time you used that was to open a can of fish."

"I was hungry! I couldn't find a can opener, and you were too busy to open it for me." Korra groans like that was somehow Kuvira's fault.

The argument would go on, but the harbormaster started yelling that the ship to Republic City was ready to leave, so the metalbender pulled the Avatar into a tight hug, knowing that they probably wouldn't see each other for a long time.

"Take care, Korra. And if you are in over your head, don't hesitate to contact me."

"I'll be fine, sis. Good luck with your new career."

Kuvira smiled and gave Korra a kiss on a forehead, before her sister got on board. The ship soon sailed away and disappeared behind the horizon.

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><p>.<p>

Korra traveled for a whole day before she arrived at Republic City. The thing that amazed her the most was Aang's memorial, on an island in the bay.

"Jeez, Aang. How big of an ego did you have?" the current Avatar whispered to herself, giggling at the size of the statue of her predecessor. Like he was afraid that the world would forget him.

Korra disembarked on the pier along with many other passengers. The dock was filled with people, from fisherman to tourists, from Fire Nation to Water Tribe. The Avatar realized that she wouldn't have any problems with blending in with this diverse community.

"Hmm, look at this place." She breathed in the first air of the city.

Dirty, polluted, and bland.

Fantastic... five seconds here and she already missed the countryside of the Earth Kingdom, or the desert towns in the Fire Nation. She didn't miss anything about the Northern Water Tribe though, its environment reminded her too much of the Southern Tribe.

The thought of the third nation reminded Korra of the reason she was here and the Avatar panned her gaze to a small island not far from Aang's statue.

"Air Temple Island. I guess that's where Tenzin lives." Korra spoke to herself. She remembered meeting Tenzin when she was six or seven."I wonder if he'd recognize me..."

Judging on by her appearance, Korra no longer resembled the escaped eleven-year-old girl she used to be. Her hair wasn't done in the distinct, Southern Water Tribe wolf-tail anymore, but simply let loose on her shoulders. Her wardrobe wasn't her Tribe's usual attire either, but a simple black sleeveless jacket, black sleeves and black leather boots. On the first glance, she looked like any female mercenary that you'd find brawling in a bar or chasing bandits in a valleys. As long as Korra didn't use her real name, or bent three elements in public, she should be fine.

_'So, maybe I could confront him. It's still risky, but it'll be a lot easier to learn airbending than... I don't know...sneaking around the island to watch him train? That's kinda creepy._

_Or maybe he has some airbending scroll I could stea-borrow... Though sneaking has never been my strong suit, and I'm gonna be in a lot of trouble if get caught. Maybe the best way is to confront him and keep denying if he gets suspicious. I mean, he wouldn't think the runaway Avatar, who disappeared six years ago, will suddenly show up on his door step...'_

The growling of her stomach interrupted Korra's train of thoughts. She decided that she couldn't think if she was that hungry. And it was probably for the best if she took some time to survey the city before going to the Air Temple Island.

.

* * *

><p>.<p>

"I'll take one of everything." Korra slammed twenty yuans on the food stall. The vendor took the money and handed her ten meat sticks without saying anything, going back to grill more meat. "A smile to a customer wouldn't hurt, you know?" the Avatar gave commented and walked away, ignoring the frown the woman sent her.

Korra sat down next to the pond in the city park, eating her meat sticks, until she noticed a pair of eyes glaring at her from a nearby bush. A man with dirty clothes and an equally dirty beard emerged from his hiding place with an ugly grin.

"Uh, say, think I can get one of them tasty-smelling..." The man flapped his elbows rapidly up and down, keeping his hands on the shirt. "...meat sticks?"

A hobo? This city continues to amaze Korra, in the way that she started wondering if this place was any different from Ba Sing Se in terms of living quality. Still... the Avatar handed him two of her meat sticks, she was already full anyway.

"Nice house you got there." Korra said looking at the bush. The man ignored her sarcasm and answered with a mouth full of meat.

"Yes, presently that is what I do call home. Took me a while to procure a bush that beauteous. This park is quite popular with all the vagabonds."

"For some reason, I'm not surprised." the Avatar said casually. The life of a mercenary made her familiar with the 'lower-class citizens'. She can stand them, to say the least.

"Oh, it's looks like you're already learned something then, newcomer. Welcome to Republic..." the man swallowed his word and suddenly drove back into the bush. Korra raised an eyebrow when she noticed a park guard running towards her, blowing in a whistle.

"Hey, you! Stop! You can't fish here..." he suddenly stopped when he saw her meat sticks up close.

"First, this isn't fish. Second, I paid for this." Korra replied coldly, still curious of what's going on.

"S...sorry, ma'am. I thought I saw Gommu with you earlier..."

"So that's his name."

"Yes, he is sneaking around the park to stole the fish in this pond. My apologies."

"Stealing food is a crime, right." Korra took her last bite before standing up. "But from who? A hungry civilian, or the neglecting authority?" The guard looked stunned when the girl padded him on the shoulder while walking past him. "Have a nice day, officer."

.

* * *

><p>.<p>

Korra continued to wander around the park, absorbing the view of this so-called futuristic city. Republic City had one thing over Ba Sing Se, it was a lot brighter, full of scenery one could look at, even compared the Middle Ring.

"Are you tired of living under the tyranny of benders? Then join the Equalists!" The echo of a megaphone drew Korra's attention, as she saw a group of people gathered around a man standing on a podium. Behind him was a poster of a man wearing a white mask and a dark cloak. Good fashion sense, Korra admitted.

"Guess I have a minute to spare." the Avatar gave in to her curiosity and joined the group.

"For too long, the bending elite of this city have forced non-benders to live as lower-class citizens. Join Amon, and together we will tear down the bending establishment!"

"If that was true, wouldn't you gonna be in a lot of trouble after this? You know, for speaking against the 'upper-class citizens'?" everyone turned to look at Korra when she ask the question, putting a lot of emphasis on the phrase 'upper-class citizens'.

"That is the risk I'm willing to take! Someone must stand up against this oppression!" the man answered proudly.

"I've been in Ba Sing Se, you know? Trust me, I know an oppression when I see one." Korra paused and looked around as if she was speculating them one by one. "The worst among you still have it A LOT better than people in the Lower Ring ."

"Oh yeah?" the protester was taken aback a little, but he realized now that this girl tried to speak against him. "Let me guess: you're a bender."

"Because I disagreed with you?" Korra stood her ground, but didn't act like she was taking this debate seriously. "Can't I just be a naive non-bending traveler who just happen to wonder about this 'Equalists' stuff?" she looked at the poster again and asked before the man get a chance to answered. "Seriously though, what are those Equalists you've been talking about?"

"The Equalist are the warriors who fight for the non-benders, led by Amon, the savior of this city! How else are we going to protect ourselves from the evil of those benders who seek to oppress us for their personal gain?"

"You hire another bender." Korra smiled casually. "It's common sense, really. If you can't fight your own battle, you save money and hire someone to fight them for you, simple as that."

"Ah-ha! This is it, people. This is what's wrong with this city! Benders like this girl only use their power to oppress or exploit us!" The protester angrily glares at Korra, his spectators turning to her as well.

"Whatever." Korra shrugged and walked away, ignoring all the boos and the curses sent her way.

After all, barking dogs seldomly bite.

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><p>.<p>

Korra walked down the street, noticing that her surroundings had changed, the salty smell of the ocean less intense. She suspected it wasn't the right way to Air Temple Island. Kuvira did say that her sister is like a five year-old girl when it came to walking around in a city. Korra had a habit of getting lost, and even with a heavy suggestion and lecture from her metalbending sister, she still never remembered signs, street names, and never brought a map with her. Kuvira had to pick her up at the police station one time when they stayed in Zaofu, three times in Fire Nation Capital, and six times in Ba Sing Se. It is the reason that Korra usually avoided big cities, preferring smaller towns and villages when they traveled from place to place.

"Excuse me," Korra walk up to a young man and an elderly lady sitting in front of a shop "I think I'm lost. How do I get to Air Temple Island from here?"

"Just head down this street." The old woman with a kind face pointed down the street, but her expression suddenly changed when she noticed a red Satomobile turning down the street and heading towards a phonograph shop. "You should get moving, young lady. It isn't safe." she whispered to Korra who only raised an eyebrow with curiosity.

Three people got out of the Satomobile and approached a phonograph vendor who was cleaning one of his products.

One of the men, whom Korra suspected might be a waterbender, judging by his skin color, or has Water Tribe heritage, spoke to the vendor with a tedious smile. "Mr. Chung, please tell me that you have my money or else..." he turns toward his companion, a young man with a spiky hair who awkwardly lighted his hand on fire, his face mixed with shame and guilt. The waterbender frowned at how bad the boy was at being intimidating, but still continued his word. "...I can't guarantee I can protect your fine establishment."

"I'm sorry, business has been slow. Please, take one of my phonographs." Chung offers the phonograph he was cleaning. The firebender immediately extinguished his hand and took the phonograph.

"It's okay, Mr. Chung. I know you people have a hard time..."

"MAKO!" The waterbender yelled at the spiky hair boy, he took the phonograph and threw it away, unintentionally in Korra's direction. She caught the phonograph with one hand while the waterbender continued yelling at his younger companion. "What did I told you about being soft-hearted!? You going to destroy our image you little!..." the man swallowed his last word as he tried to switched to his fake civilized mode. "My apologies, Mr. Chung. My friend here is a bit of a music lover. However, I would suggest you give me the money, or else-"

"Or else what, hoodlum?"

The three men turned around to see Korra standing confidently behind them, one hand on her hips, the other carrying the phonograph they just threw away.

The three gangsters eyed each questioningly for a second before two of them bursting out in laughter. The one name Mako tried to laughed along but came out so awkward they had to stop. The waterbender cleared his throat before speaking to Korra.

"Since you're obviously fresh off the boat, let me explain a couple things." As the man spoke, Chung retreated back to his shop, while the young man and elderly woman in another store on the other side of the road were watching what was happening. "You're in Triple Threat Triad territory, and we're about to put you in the hospital."

"How generous of you." Korra took the group by surprise, smiling. "Most people I fight usually say they are going to kill me. I'm glad to see things are more... civilized around here." She carefully put down the phonograph on the ground, knowing that she'll need to use both of her hands soon "Now, on the topic of sending someone to a hospital, how many bones in your body I can break without killing you? I'm just want to make sure you guys end up in an emergency room, not a mortuary."

"Who do you think you are?" The waterbender whispering threateningly.

"A bounty hunter who has already been paid enough for first and second degree murder," Korra casually said, like she was just talking about the weather. "Thanks Spirits that they were all outlaws, otherwise I'd probably have a life sentence in three nations by now, assuming they wouldn't execute me."

The waterbender's eyes twitched enraged, for he thought the girl taunted them with nonsense. He suddenly bent a water bullet from an unseen water skin from under his coat. Korra was about to the stop the bullet with her own waterbending, when she suddenly realize something.

She can't bend three elements in public. No problem, she only needed one to defeat these petty thugs...

**_But which one?_**

When she was traveling, she could freely choose which element to use for a specific situation. Her clients hardly cared what bender they were hiring as long as she could get the job done. Most bandits also didn't have a habit of keeping record of which bounty hunter used which element.

But now... she was going to have to stay in Republic City for a while, so if she used any of the element in public, she would be forced to stick with that element, to avoid suspicions.

In hindsight , she knew she should have thought about this before she arrived at the shore, or at least before deciding to jump into a street battle.

So instead of taking a bending stand, Korra dodged the water bullet and stood still, one hand crossed her chest, the other held her chin while she lost deep in her thought.

"What are you idiots waiting for?! Let's teach this bitch a lesson!" The waterbender ordered, and Mako and the other one who turned out to be an earthbender began their three way attack.

A fire ball, a brick, and water were thrown from every angle, none of them came even close to hitting Korra, who was now whispering to herself while casually dodging all the attacks.

_"Well, I like firebending the most, but a firebending Water Tribe girl seems a bit out of place. I wouldn't want to risk someone putting two and two together and find out I'm the Avatar..."_

Unconsciously, Korra moved in front of the waterbender. He was taken aback by her agility and tried to shoot her with his water bullet, which didn't work well in close quarters.

Korra grabbed his left arm and twisted it hard, before she grabbed him by his right arm and threw him over her shoulder to the ground, before twisting it to the opposite angle from the left one, but his screams did not interrupting her inner thoughts.

_"Waterbending is my least favorite, although I would be able to heal myself in the middle of a fight. But again, I think I will just be more careful not to get badly injured during battle."_

Korra jumped to avoid a ground attack from the earthbender. She back flipped in midair and landed behind him. With one swipe kicked at his legs, she sent him face down to the ground.

_"Earth then?..."_ Korra stomped on the back of the guy's knee, his painful scream even louder than the waterbender's. _"I could bend metal too, so it's two in one,"_ she pressed her heel on his other leg, getting same result - a louder scream. _"but the last time I used earthbending in a big city, I got arrested for property damage and end up spending my entire evening fixing some Ba Sing Se's Upper Ring footpath, those ungrateful nobles..."_ she kicked the earthbender at the side to flip him on his back, breaking three of his ribs. Korra then turned to Mako who already stopped shooting fire at her when she broke his friend's leg.

"H... Hold on! Hold on!" The Avatar ignored the firebender's gesturing for surrender, however, his attitude did get Mako a special treatment, because instead of getting his bones crushed, Korra only grabbed his collar and flung him to the ground. No kick or stomp came after that.

"What just happened?" the old woman asked the young man, for what she just saw, that girl just took down three Triple Threat Triads, without bending and with bare hands!

"I... I think she is a non-bender," the young man answer, before his eye widened as he whispered to himself _"maybe... she is one of those **Equalists** they're talking about?"_

.

* * *

><p>.<p>

"Huh?..." Korra snapped out of her thought when the situation calmed down, the earthbender and the waterbender were on the ground, groaning at their misplace bone, while the firebender stood up and slowly backed away from her.

"Look! I...I don't want any more trouble. I'll just grab my friends and leave."

"So you're the only one with brain." Korra smiled at him. "I'll keep your bones intact then."

Mako shivered at the girl's threats and was about to pick up the other two when they heard an alarm sounds from above. He and Korra both looked up to see the arrival of an airship.

"Police! Freeze where you are!"

"Oh crap..." It were the last words Korra heard from Mako before he ran and disappeared into the nearest alley, leaving his friends, who were yet to recover from the ground.

"Mako! You traitorous son of a-" the waterbender didn't get to finish his word when Korra lightly kicked him in the face, almost breaking his nose.

"Hey, it's not his fault you're too stupid to ran when you had a chance." the Avatar leaned against the Satomobile while watching the airship hatch open on the side. Four metalbender cops jumped off and anchored their metal cables on the nearby buildings, securing a safe landing.

"Aww, I miss Kuvira already," Korra frowned. Kuvira may have preferred metal strips as her main weapons, but she did use metal cables once in a while, even tried to teach Korra how to use some, sadly, unsuccessfully.

The cops approached the area - no property damage, no civilian casualty, only one girl standing by the Satomobile, two men on the ground that they immediately identified as two of the Triple Threat Triad.

"It's about time you showed up, officers." Korra spoke with a proudly grin. "I thought I would have to drag these two to the police station myself."

"Arrest them!" Ordered the cop that looked like the captain, before walking up to Korra "You're under arrest, too."

Korra's grin disappear, replace by a curious expression "What's the charge?"

"Disturbing the peace."

"To protect an innocent civilian." Korra answer almost sounded teasing, evidently as she start grinning again "You just jealous because I did your job better than you."

"That's enough." The police captain took a fighting stance and shot a cable to bind Korra. However, she quickly moved out of its way and snatched the cable out of the air, holding it back.

"That's very rude." Korra commented. "and your bending is terrible, no wonder that Triple Threat Triad claims its own this district."

The captain tried to retract his cable, but Korra secretly used her metalbending to hold on to it, but from the outside look, it did seem like she holding the cable with just her raw strength.

"Now, before this misunderstanding goes any further, let me explain-"

" You can explain yourself all you like, down at the headquarters!" he shot another cable at Korra, but she caught it with her other hand and pulled him to her.

"Pathetic." A bare fist collided with the cop's face, sending him flying backwards when Korra released the cables she was holding. The Avatar looked at the man who lay- nose bleeding - on the ground with both disgust and pity. **"You give metalbenders a bad name."**

"Freeze!" Another three metalbending cops jumped down from the airship and took a fighting stance around her, the other three who came with the captain joined them as well, since the two guys they arrested weren't in any condition to escape.

Korra's eyes widened when she realized she just punched an officer in the face. So much for keeping low profile...

"OK, alright. Everyone take it easy. I'll surrender..." The Avatar slowly raised her hand in gesture of surrender and let one of the cops tackle her to the ground before he handcuffed her. She didn't want to make the situation more complicated, but tried to avoid bringing attention to herself.

Deep in the dark alley not far the scene, two figures wearing trench coats, scarves and green goggles were observing the situation from the beginning.

"Contact Sato. We'll need some assistance at the police headquarters. " One of them spoke up, before both Equalists disappeared into the darkness. "We may have a potential recruit on our hands."

.

.

_...to be continue_

_._

* * *

><p><em>.<em>

_._

To clarify something. Yes, I'm Korrasami shipper. No, I don't hate Mako, his change in my AU may seem...pathetic at first, but I actually plan an important role for him to play later.


	3. Chapter 1 : Unwelcoming Republic City(2)

**1). Unwelcoming Republic City.(part 2)**

**.**

* * *

><p><strong>.<strong>

Inside an interrogation room, Korra sat at the table with her hands cuffed, while a female metalbending officerpaced around the room with a clipboard in her hand.

"Let's the peace, put two men in the hospital with broken arms, legs, and ribs-"

_'Oh, so they DID end up in a hospital.'_Korra though to herself.

"-not to mention evading arrest and injuring a police captain…" The woman slammed the clipboard on the table, and angrily glared at Korra, who remained calm with a slight annoyance in her blue eyes. "You're in a whole mess of trouble, young lady."

"Yeah... you're not the first cop who told me that." The Avatar rolled her eyes. "Look, those two were threatening a helpless shopkeeper, I wasjusttrying to help-"

"You should have called the police and stayed out of the way."

Korra almost slipped out a comment _"If the police ever arrived on time, I would have been out of business five years ago."_, but her situation was bad enough already without her provoking the interrogator.

The female cop walked to the other side of the table "What's your name?"

"Kairi" Korra told her fake name. "May I ask yours?"

The woman looked hesitate for a second, but decided to answer since the girl seemed cooperative. "I'm Lin Beifong."

"Wait, Beifong?Like...you're related to Suyin Beifong, the leader of the Metal Clan?"

Lin narrowed her eye at the mention of Suyin's name. "I'm her older sister."

"Oh? So...your family practically owns the entire city, then what are you doing being a petty cop here?-"

The sound of the fist slammed on a table made Korra realized her mistake, Lin glared angrily at her, especially after the word _'petty cop'_.

"First," Lin's tone of voice was sharper than any metal she wore on her armor "Do not mention my sister's name in front of me ever again. Second, I am the _chief of police_, and I suggest you mind your tongue before you speak."

_"Huh? I feel like Kuvira gave me the same lecture before... Come to think of it, is this the reason she was always the one who dealt with the authorities when we turned over wanted criminals?"_ Korra thought while gulping at the frighten stare of the chief of police.

Before they could continue their conversation, a metalbending officer opened a small hole in the metal wall.

"Chief, Hiroshi Sato is here. He requests to see the girl you're interrogating."

Lin's face frowned at question, but when she looked at Korra, she saw that the young girl was as surprised as she was.

"Send him in." Lin stood up beside the table, putting her hands behind her back in a formal posture, as the wall in front of Korra slid aside to form a door through which a middle aged man entered. One quick glance at his clothes told Korra that this guy lived a luxury live, so she wondered if he would ever need her service while she stayed here. And considering how ineffective these metalbender cops are, she might have a chance.

"Good afternoon, Chief Beifong." Hiroshi greeted Lin with a smile.

"How may I help you, Mr. Sato?"

"Well, how do I begin? I had heard that there is a mysterious non-bender girl who took down three Triple Threat Triads to save Mr. Chung, the phonograph shop owner." Hiroshi turned to Korra "I assume that was you, young lady?"

"Name's Kairi, nice to meet you." Korra nodded her head.

"You're a non-bender?" Lin asked.

"...maybe..." Korra mumbled, but before Lin could press any further, Hiroshi continue.

"I understand that she did break a few laws and got herself in trouble. However, it's a shame that such a heroic act got punished just because an unfortunate event-"

"This is how justice works, Mr. Sato. This girl put two people in the hospital with broken arms and legs, she needs to be punished for her crime."

"Would you prefer the victims to be one of the innocent civilians rather than the gang members?" Hiroshi's voice suddenly hardened a little. "I would gladly have the one who died at the raiding of my estate twelve years ago be the Agni Kai member instead of my wife."

"Mr. Sato..." Lin didn't raise her voice, but Korra knew that she wasn't backing down on this argument, so she either tried to avoid the harsh word, or she did feel sympathy for the man in front of her.

"My apologies," Hiroshi softened his tone. "I often lose my temper when it comes to the Triple Threat Triad. I'm sorry."

"It's alright" Lin nodded. "However, I can't make an exception for any crime, and I can't let this girl go free just because the victims were people that deserved what they got."

"I understand, and I didn't come to suggest that. I came here to offer to pay her fine and cover all the damages." Hiroshi turned to smiled at Korra "Think of it as my generosity for your good deed, Kairi."

"I'm not sure I like the idea of encouraging this act of vigilantism," Lin also turned to frown at Korra. "But it's your choice and your money, Mr. Sato. She didn't cause any collateral damage to any public or private property, so it'll be just her fine."

"Excellent, I'll go sign all the forms then, it shouldn't take long." Hiroshi spoke to Korra before he left the room with one of the officer.

"What a nice guy." The Avatar smiled widely, until Lin put her hand on her shoulder to have her attention. She wait until the door was close before she spoke.

"Don't get cocky over this, kid. And don't think that just because Mr. Sato came to save your skin this time-"

"A favor is an investment" Korra interrupted Lin, but what surprised the chief of police was how cold and calm her voice was. "I don't know what's Mr. Sato's true intentions are behind all of this, but I'm not stupid, Chief Beifong. No one gives a favor to a stranger without wanting something in return."

"Hiroshi is a good man, and I remind you of my previous advice. Mind your tongue before you speak about him."

Korra raise an eyebrow at Lin "I...think I'm kinda confused about your warning here, what exactly are you trying to tell me?"

Lin silenced for the moment before raises her left hand to opened Korra's handcuffs.

"I'll keep an eye on you. Kairi." She steps away to let Korra out of the room. The Avatar walked to the door before turning back to see Lin points with her index and pinkie at her eyes and back to Korra, glaring at her.

"...Good day to you too, officer." Korra said bluntly and walked away without turning again. She has never had a good relationship with authority, and won't have anytime soon.

.

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><p>.<p>

"Thank you again for helping me, good sir." Korra bowed to Hiroshi as they left the police headquarter, even so deep down that Korra felt hurtful in her pride, a mercenary shouldn't leave the police station without a bounty!

"You're welcome Kairi. Let me promptly introduce myself: I am Hiroshi Sato, the owner and founder of Future Industries."

"A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Sato..." Korra heard the name Future Industries once or twice, but never paid much attention to the brand. And when it came to technology, Kuvira consistently opted for them to only use the products that said '_made in Zaofu'_. Her sister REALLY was a nationalist.

"Please, call me Hiroshi."

"...Yes sir, and my name is Kairi, freelance mercenary."

Hiroshi never thought the girl's title would be more interesting than his, but apparently he was wrong.

"You're...a mercenary?"

"Merc, bounty hunter, hired sword, we have many titles." Korra smiled proudly "I usually travel around the countryside, fighting bandits, saving villagers, assisted town folk, all the things that for some reason turnout to be ILLEGAL in this city." Korra glanced back at the police station.

"Oh? Then I guess you must have many adventures to tell about." Hiroshi walked up to a luxurious looking Satomobile. "Are you free this evening? I would like to invite you to dinner at my estate."

"Oh?" Korra unconsciously backed away. She knew now what this man wanted from her. "Umm..., no... I can't...umm. You're not really my type..."

Though that line could have been offensive, Hiroshi just burst out laughing.

"I'm not a perverted old man, Kairi! You're young enough to be my daughter, in fact... I think you're the same age as her." Hiroshi waved his hand "I just want you to meet my daughter, and we would love to hear about your adventures as a mercenary, if you have time, of course."

"Well, I appreciate your generosity, but I do have some...business this evening." Korra still not fully convinced about his thing that she did have something to do this evening, so technically she didn't lie.

"I understand" Much to her surprise, Hiroshi backed down more easily than she thought. He only handed her a business card with an address written on the back. "I'd still like to get to know you better, Kairi. A youth who stands and fights for the people is hard to find this day. Feel free to drop by at my place anytime. Goodbye." Hiroshi nodded before got in his Satomobile and drove off.

Korra inspected the card he gave her for moment. She started to wondered why Mr. Sato seemed so interested in her?

.

* * *

><p>.<p>

Korra stepped off the ferry on Air Temple Island. She was the only one at the dock, so much for not drawing an attention. Korra could only hope the island was no stranger to a visitor or a tourist.

"OK, Kairi. You can do this." Korra spoke to herself while walking to the temple. "You just a curious girl who wants to see some airbending performance, maybe for writing a book or... damn! I wish Kuvira was here, she could always come up with a good excuse when we went undercover."

"Who is Kuvira?"

Korra almost jumped off her skin. She turned around to see a little girl who sat on a tree branch that was big enough to support her weight. She wearing an olive green shirt, donning her hair in two buns behind her head. She jumped down and walked to Korra.

"Umm... Hi?"

"Hi. My name is Ikki. Who are you?" The little girl introduced herself.

"Kairi, I'm...a traveler..." _'Off to the poor start. Focus, Korra! You can do better than this!'_ "I'm here to study the art of airbending."

"Are you a bender yourself?"

"...I'll let you guess." Korra acted like she was teasing, but really she just wanted to keep her bending options open as long as possible.

"Well, bender or not, you know that you can't use airbending, right? You have to born as an airbender. And now there are only three airbenders in the world."

"Are you one of the three?"

The smile on Ikki's face shifted a little, but she hid it quickly. "Well, I..."

"Ikki!"

The two turn to see a girl and a boy flew from the temple with their gliders. The girl look a bit older than Ikki, while the boy was certainly younger, both of them wearing Air Nomad attire. They landed on their feet and folded their gliders back into to a staff.

"Who is she?" the boy asked, looking at Korra.

"Kairi, meet my brother, Meelo, and my sister, Jinora." Ikki pointed at the two, and back to Korra. "Meelo, Jinora, this is Kairi. She said she want to learn about airbending."

"We always welcome those who interested in Air Nomad culture." The girl named Jinora spoke with a polite smile. "What do you want to know? An Air Nomad's philosophy? The original airbending?"

"Actually..." Korra thought things started to look up for her. These children are probably Tenzin's kids, and they seem so eager to help her "I would like to see some airbending moves, you know? Air blast, create a tornado, something like that. Can you three show me?"

.

* * *

><p>.<p>

At the temple's courtyard, the four of them stood in front of a circle filled with several wooden gates, all standing in a different direction. The elemental symbol of airbending appeared on every gate.

"This is a time-honored tool that teaches the most fundamental aspect of airbending." Jinora announced "The goal is to weave your way through the gates and make it to the other side without touching them."

"While they are spinning, I guess?" Korra ask when she notice the joint at every gate.

"Correct" Jinora said as she thrusts her hands forward, releasing a burst of air. The gates start to spin rapidly. She held up a leaf between her thumb and index finger."The key is to be like the leaf. Flow with the movement of the gates."she releases the leaf and gently moves it toward the gates with airbending, the leave swirling and twirling, never touching the spinning gates until it emerges on the other side. "Now, Meelo will demonstrate."

The boy grinned proudly as he did a few exercise pose before runs up to the gates. Korra follows Meelo with her gaze as he weaves his way through the ancient airbending tool, rapidly switching direction each time a spinning panel comes near him.

"Airbending is all about spiral movements. When you meet resistance, you must be able to switch direction at a moment's notice." Jinora explained. Meelo emerged from the other side and stood like an Olympic winner with an imaginary gold medal on his neck. "and for the history of this gate, it's invention tract back to..."

"Can I try?" Korra cut the girl off, somehow knew that her history lesson going to be boring.

"You can, but it's a lot harder than its looks!" Meelo exclaimed "Only a well-trained airbender could get through this without a scratch..."

In the blink of an eye, Korra disappeared from their view, and in another blink, jumped out from between the gates beside Meelo.

"I think it slow down now, could you shot an air blast to make it as fast as your turn?" Korra asked.

Three children looked back at the gates. Yes, it's spinning slower than before, but it still nowhere near the level that a regular person would run through this easily.

"How could you do that? I been tried over and over again, but I never got further than half way." Ikki asked, with a little hurt in her voice.

"Let's just say...I'm familiar with getting shot, slashed, punched, burned, struck, and stabbed from every direction all at one." Korra smiled like she thought of a good old days. "A couple of times I had to do it with both my hands tied behind my back and my ankles in chain, no kidding."

Jinora looked shocked, Ikki open her mouth in awe, and Meelo raised his eyebrows in disbelieve, so he shot a gust of wind to make the gate spin up to the same speed.

"Now that's a real challenge." Korra said as she ran into the circle, where she managed to dodge four of the gate but got slammed in the face by the fifth. Korra lost her balance and got hit by every panel around her.

With her strong survivor instinct, Korra stop forcing her way through and let the gate push her backwards, until she got tossed out of the circle. However, she was still able to do a back flip and land elegantly on her feet.

"Ha! I know you couldn't do it!" Meelo yelled, hiding the fact that he did impressed how she able to retreat from the gate with the bare minimum of damage, and her back flip was astonishing!

"It's official then, your gate is a better fighter than the Triple Threat Triad gang." Korra tried moving her arm to make sure she didn't break any bones. "Did you just run through them, or did you have to use an airbending to get pass these?"

"Well, actually..."

"Jinora! We can't reveal our secret technique to a non-airbender!" Meelo interrupt his sister, he pointed at Korra, and Ikki. "There are two of them here!"

"Wait, you're not an airbender?"Korra suddenly turn to ask the girl. Ikki avoided her gaze like she felt ashamed of that question, her reaction made Korra want to slap herself for asking this. While Jinora knocked Meelo's head in the background for his rudeness.

"No... I'm not, sorry to disappoint you..." Ikki spoke with a sad smile, but before Korra could apologize, they noticed a tall figure enter the courtyard.

"Kids, do we have a guest?"

"Dad!" Ikki switched her expression to a smile as she ran to her father, "How is she? Is she alright? Does she have to stay at the hospital..."  
>"She fine, Ikki. Nothing to worry about, but remember, no more chocolate for her." Tenzin padded his daughter head before turn his attention to the stranger girl...<p>

...who, at first sight, somehow seemed familiar to him...

"And you are?..."

"Master Tenzin, it's an honor to meet you." Korra bowed and greeted him calmly, while inside she almost had a panic attack when she first saw him. "My name is Kairi, I come here to learn about the art of airbending."

"We always welcome anyone who have interest in an Air Nomad culture." Tenzin smiled and just dismissed his earlier thought, maybe most teenagers look the same through the eye of an old man like him. "But I must ask you come back tomorrow, we only receive visitors during office hours."

"My apologies then. I'll take my leave." Korra was now in her full on business mode, she may lack the charm Kuvira has, but she could be polite enough to smooth her way through many clients, the skill seem to transferable to this situation as well. She then turned to the three kids "Thank you all for the demonstration."

Jinora was the only one who bowed back to her, Ikki thought she didn't do anything for Korra to deserved a thank-you, and Meelo seemed to have developed a little prejudice towards her about the airbending gates.

As Korra turned to leave, relived that her true identity was safe and secure. Another figure entered the courtyard, and the sight managed to destroy Korra's calmness completely.

Ikki was about to open her mouth, when Korra suddenly said.

**_"Naga?"_**

All eyes turn to her. A polar bear dog was running toward Ikki, but stopped when she noticed Korra. Naga slowly walked to her, sniffing the Avatar to confirm the scent of familiarity...

...The scent of her former master...

"W... what are you doing here?" Korra's voice was shacking. She had prepared to face a lot of things when she came to this island, but this was not one of them.

Carefully, she placed her palm on Naga's head. It felt like so long ago that she almost forgot the soft fur of the beast.

"How did you know her name?" Ikki asked, confused that Naga just ignored her like this. But Korra was too lost in her thought when she locked eyes with the polar dog, question, explanation, apologize, many emotion past through their eye without any word or sound.

The Avatar's thought only snapped when she heard Tenzin's voice.

"K...Korra?"

A moment of silence followed, the girl neither responded or denied that name. Korra lowered her head so Tenzin couldn't see her eyes. She retreated her hand back from Naga's head.

"Korra, is it really you? Where did you..."

Before Tenzin finished his word, the giant ball of flame shot out of her hand and blocked his entire view.

.

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><p>.<p>

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_...continue in part 3..._


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